Forging & Craftsmanship ~ Basic Technique & Skill Development ~

At Mission Farrier School, our emphasis is on three key areas of study:  Relevant Hoof Science, Good Horsemanship, and Craftsmanship.  In this DVD, our focus is on craftsmanship.  It’s important to be the best craftsman you can be to properly meet the needs of the horses in your clientele.  This means you need to put the time in at the forge and anvil.  Since the advent of keg shoes, or ready-mades in the early 1900’s, quality craftsmanship by farriers all but disappeared mid-way through the last century.  The term “ready-made shoes” implied that shoes were ready to nail on.  And along with this loss of forging skills the application of the ready-made pattern also lead to the demise of the understanding of what a horse’s foot should look like.  And while we’ve come a long way in the last 25 years, and now we have a vast inventory of front and hind pattern shoes, there is still an intense need to learn how to properly shape a keg shoe to meet the needs of the individual horse.  This 2-Disc DVD set will give you the basic techniques & skills necessary for the most common forging tasks of today’s farrier, as well as guidelines for producing quality hand-made shoes.

This is a 2-Disc DVD set with a combined run time of approximately 120 minutes.  Topics include: basic keg shoe modifications, pulling clips, lengthening stock (heels), modifying fronts-to-hinds and hinds-to-fronts, and basic shoeing making (hand-mades).

Presented By:
Mark Plumlee, CJF, RJF, CNBBT, CNBF & CLS
Mission Farrier School, Snohomish, Washington

Mark Plumlee is the Owner and the Instructor at Mission Farrier School.  His qualifications are unique, certified through three farrier affiliations CJF (Certified Journeyman Farrier) through the American Farriers Association, RJF (Registered Journeyman Farrier) through the Guild of Professional Farriers, and CNBF (Certified Natural Balance Farrier) & CLS (Certified Lameness Specialist) through the Equine Lameness Prevention Organization.  In addition to his certifications, Mark’s Natural Balance experience dates back to its inception.  Mark was privileged to travel with Gene Ovnicek back in the early 1990’s as Natural Balance farrier science first emerged.  He was the first instructor to successfully integrate Natural Balance farrier science within a formal farrier education program. This gives his students a unique opportunity over all others.  Mark has given talks and clinics on all aspects of Hoof Health for over 15 years.  No one is better suited at bridging the gap between the old and the new, and at maintaining a common sense approach in everything he does.